Does Red Bay Coffee offer a french roast?
We don't offer french roast and here's why:
French roast is considered to be a double roast coffee. This process completely overpowers the flavor and aroma nuances of the coffee beans themselves. They are cooked with such intensity that they make two cracking noises during the roasting.
- 1st Crack - The first crack is the beans releasing steam.
- 2nd Crack - Another crack happens when the cell walls break down and release oils to the surface of the beans.
Once the beans make it to the second crack it can be almost impossible to taste the nuances of the origin or coffee varietal of the beans. The aromatic oils that are stored in the cells are quickly pushed out to the bean’s surface, that's why they look so oily. When all the oils are on the surface, they’re fully exposed to air - causing evaporation and oxidation. As a result, the moment a bag of french roast is open, the aromatic oils start decaying immediately. Additionally, french roast beans tend to be of lower quality as the roast process can hide any flavor defects. These may be beans that didn’t get enough nutrients or grown in a less than ideal climate. Typically people don't put use expensive beef steaks in a casserole, use a fancy scotch to make a sugary cocktail, or make french roast coffee with specialty coffee beans. Here at Red Bay, we seek to honor and highlight the beautiful complexities our coffees present. This is why we tend to only let the bean crack once, meaning you won't see a true french roast from us.
However, if you enjoy a french roast coffee then our Slow Burn may be the roast for you - to learn more about this coffee follow the link below.